aware that he followed her over the edge. Moments later he rolled over, taking her with him until she was lying on top of him, his body still buried deep inside hers.
Instinctively she knew that nothing would ever be the same again.
CHAPTER SEVEN
NOTHING HAD GONE the way he’d expected. Alexei lay beneath her, wondering what in the hell had just happened to him. Everything had spiraled out of control the instant he’d kissed her in the sleigh. He had not meant to move so fast.
He’d intended a slower seduction, perhaps unfolding over the next few days. And he’d intended to get inside her head, to have her open up to him and trust him before they went to bed.
He’d intended, bastard that he was, to make her think he was falling for her. Paige Barnes was the kind of woman who should be eating out of his hand.
And yet she was not. Nor did she seem likely to.
Which, paradoxically, might explain this intense attraction he felt toward her. She was so much more than he’d expected, and every moment he spent with her only increased his fascination.
My God, she’d still been a virgin. He hadn’t counted on that at all. Guilt stabbed him in the gut. She’d trusted him enough to give him her virginity, and all he’d intended was to take advantage of her.
But how could he have known? He’d entered her so easily that he’d barely noticed the slight resistance until he’d broken through it. Then he’d been blown away.
She’d turned the tables on him with her sweet innocence and earthy sexuality. The contrast between the two fascinated him. Compelled him. Even before he’d known she was still a virgin, he’d wanted her like he couldn’t remember ever wanting another woman in recent memory.
Or ever?
Alexei closed his eyes. No, of course not. He must have wanted another woman this badly. What about Fermina, the supermodel? She’d had the longest legs he’d ever seen.
But, no. She’d been delightful, not compelling.
He ran through a succession of women in his head. None conjured up more than pleasant memories. None conjured up violent need that spiraled out of his control.
Perhaps it was the excitement of making love to Chad Russell’s secretary, of taking something from under his cousin’s nose that the man had been too ignorant to see for himself.
But, no, it wasn’t that, either.
Paige’s warm body was limp, her breathing even, and he knew she’d fallen asleep. He wanted to sleep as well, but he could not. He was still inside her, still hard, but he needed to withdraw while the condom was still tight.
Except that he didn’t want to move. He wanted to lie here, sated and content, and enjoy the warm woman in his bed. He wanted to enjoy the companionship with her, however brief.
Paige knew what it was like to lose family too soon. It was a connection they shared. Another reason everything about this night seemed so strange to him. He didn’t usually share details about his family with the women he dated.
Hell, he didn’t usually share details of his life and family with anyone. He’d learned that life wasn’t fair, and that you couldn’t trust another soul with the burdens of yours. No one was what he or she seemed. Everyone had an agenda of some sort.
And his was to destroy the Russells.
Not that he’d told her much, but he’d said more than he usually did. In the instant when he’d told her that his family was in the crypt, he’d felt a wall of loneliness pushing down on him that he hadn’t experienced in a very long time. Somehow, she’d recognized it. He’d wanted to open up to her even more in that moment, but he’d stopped himself from doing so.
She did something to him, something he did not like. She made him long for things he’d forgotten, and feel remorse for things he could not help if he were to avenge his family. He had no room for sentimentality, no room for tender feelings of any kind.
A glance at the bedside clock told him it was nearly ten. A few more minutes,
Instinctively she knew that nothing would ever be the same again.
CHAPTER SEVEN
NOTHING HAD GONE the way he’d expected. Alexei lay beneath her, wondering what in the hell had just happened to him. Everything had spiraled out of control the instant he’d kissed her in the sleigh. He had not meant to move so fast.
He’d intended a slower seduction, perhaps unfolding over the next few days. And he’d intended to get inside her head, to have her open up to him and trust him before they went to bed.
He’d intended, bastard that he was, to make her think he was falling for her. Paige Barnes was the kind of woman who should be eating out of his hand.
And yet she was not. Nor did she seem likely to.
Which, paradoxically, might explain this intense attraction he felt toward her. She was so much more than he’d expected, and every moment he spent with her only increased his fascination.
My God, she’d still been a virgin. He hadn’t counted on that at all. Guilt stabbed him in the gut. She’d trusted him enough to give him her virginity, and all he’d intended was to take advantage of her.
But how could he have known? He’d entered her so easily that he’d barely noticed the slight resistance until he’d broken through it. Then he’d been blown away.
She’d turned the tables on him with her sweet innocence and earthy sexuality. The contrast between the two fascinated him. Compelled him. Even before he’d known she was still a virgin, he’d wanted her like he couldn’t remember ever wanting another woman in recent memory.
Or ever?
Alexei closed his eyes. No, of course not. He must have wanted another woman this badly. What about Fermina, the supermodel? She’d had the longest legs he’d ever seen.
But, no. She’d been delightful, not compelling.
He ran through a succession of women in his head. None conjured up more than pleasant memories. None conjured up violent need that spiraled out of his control.
Perhaps it was the excitement of making love to Chad Russell’s secretary, of taking something from under his cousin’s nose that the man had been too ignorant to see for himself.
But, no, it wasn’t that, either.
Paige’s warm body was limp, her breathing even, and he knew she’d fallen asleep. He wanted to sleep as well, but he could not. He was still inside her, still hard, but he needed to withdraw while the condom was still tight.
Except that he didn’t want to move. He wanted to lie here, sated and content, and enjoy the warm woman in his bed. He wanted to enjoy the companionship with her, however brief.
Paige knew what it was like to lose family too soon. It was a connection they shared. Another reason everything about this night seemed so strange to him. He didn’t usually share details about his family with the women he dated.
Hell, he didn’t usually share details of his life and family with anyone. He’d learned that life wasn’t fair, and that you couldn’t trust another soul with the burdens of yours. No one was what he or she seemed. Everyone had an agenda of some sort.
And his was to destroy the Russells.
Not that he’d told her much, but he’d said more than he usually did. In the instant when he’d told her that his family was in the crypt, he’d felt a wall of loneliness pushing down on him that he hadn’t experienced in a very long time. Somehow, she’d recognized it. He’d wanted to open up to her even more in that moment, but he’d stopped himself from doing so.
She did something to him, something he did not like. She made him long for things he’d forgotten, and feel remorse for things he could not help if he were to avenge his family. He had no room for sentimentality, no room for tender feelings of any kind.
A glance at the bedside clock told him it was nearly ten. A few more minutes,
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